Will the Tiger train continue rolling this weekend?By Simon McInerney
theroar.com.au
19 Apr 2013 Richmond – regularly and rightfully portrayed as the sleeping giant of the AFL in recent decades – are again beginning to stir.
For the information of those living under a rock, the Tigers are three-and-zip – their best start to a season since 1995 – and face arch nemesis Collingwood tomorrow.
Although the (cringe-inducing) word ‘blockbuster’ tends to get bandied about liberally these days, and I know that it’s only April, this match genuinely shapes as a belter.
Much has been written and said about Richmond this week and it will be fascinating to see how they cope with the spotlight and 80,000-plus crowd.
The cynic in me sees this as another false dawn – we’ve heard all about the giant awakening so many times before – but there is genuine reason for Richmond fans to be encouraged.
Firstly, lets rewind to last year. To describe the Tigers’ season as bipolar would be an understatement.
They managed to easily defeat eventual grand finalists Hawthorn and Sydney as well as having Jack Riewoldt win the Coleman Medal and Trent Cotchin finish runner-up in the Brownlow.
Conversely, they finished a lowly 12th on the ladder and suffered an embarrassing loss to the Gold Coast Suns.
Most encouraging, however, was perhaps this fact: after Round 1, the Tigers’ heaviest losing margin was 22 points.
Even though they again failed to make September, long gone were the days of regular soul destroying thrashings. Richmond were competitive in defeat – a reliable gauge of an improving team.
These things can be difficult to quantify, but on the evidence of the NAB Cup and rounds 1-3 this year the Tigers look like a 4-6 goal better side in 2013. They’re managing to seal the deal in tight games.
The promising team built by Damian Hardwick between 2010-2012 has been boosted by the likes of Troy Chaplin, Chris Knights and Ricky Pettard while Aaron Edwards and Orren Stephenson haven’t yet been needed.
Richmond are hungry, organised and settled. 18 of the 22 men who will run out on tomorrow have played 50 games or more and Brandon Ellis will be the only teenager in the side.
Inexperience is not an excuse. With over half the team aged between 24-27, this year and the two following is the time to strike.
The next three weeks shape as an enormous challenge for this emerging side. After Collingwood, Richmond face Fremantle away and a Geelong team showing no signs of decline.
First thing’s first though, and the Magpies will be a formidable challenge. Collingwood have been thereabouts for years and despite a change of coach and, gradually, playing personnel, they’ve not relented in being a disciplined side who usually find a way to win.
Along with Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn, they are the modern day benchmark. Their core – Swan, Johnson, Cloke, O’Brien, Shaw, Thomas, Pendlebury et al – have played together and won in all different ways and all different places.
ANZAC Days, preliminary finals, interstate finals and even a grand final replay – they’ve done it all.
They’ve also beaten Richmond five times running with absolute ease, and they’ve finished above the Tigers in ten of the past 11 seasons.
On the big stage the men from Punt Road have tended to crumble in recent years and some digging reveals a depressing 3-12 record in front of crowds of over 60,000 since 2008.
Those matches typically come against foes such as Carlton and Essendon, and therefore defeat stings the Tiger faithful where it hurts most.
You wouldn’t blame them for walking through Yarra Park with a sense of foreboding come early Saturday afternoon. It is not only Collingwood who they’ll be up against, but a history of not turning up when it matters most.
Richmond are playing gung ho, attacking footy at the moment – the run and skill on show at Docklands on Sunday was irresistible – and the team are so packed full of characters that they would be a welcome addition to September.
You have cult figure Ivan Maric in the ruck and either the neck-tattoed, raging bull Dustin Martin or inspiring captain Trent Cotchin sharking his taps. There is pesky push-up King Jake and class clown Alex Rance.
And don’t forget the experienced men – Shane Tuck, written off a few years back but still eeking out a career at the coalface and Chris Newman, who at 30 and with 217 games on the board, deserves the chance in a finals series or two as much as anyone.
Lastly, the ace in pack is Jack Riewoldt – a showy larrikin who, when not giving the bird to the opposition bench or winding up another side’s cheer squad, thrives on the big stage and can turn a match in a quarter.
Talented key forwards are a rare commodity and, in Riewoldt, Richmond have a genuine blue-chip stock.
Fans used to fantasise about what Brendan Fevola might be able to produce if given the chance in a final, but now a similar wish-thinking applies to Jack.
In an era of robotic footballers, it is refreshing to have such an eclectic mix of personalities in the one team.
Seeing Richmond in September would be fascinating – a generation of their fans don’t know what finals feel like – but for the club to move forward they have to start rising to the occasion in big games.
Tomorrow matters not just for four points, but also for belief to carry ahead.
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